Gemini Obtains First Spectrum From Furthest Known Dusty Galaxy

September 26, 2002

A US-UK team led by Gemini South astronomer Michael Ledlow, using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini North, has obtained a spectrum from the optical counterpart of the most distant "dusty" galaxy known. This object was selected for study based on a detection at submillimeter wavelengths using SCUBA* on the JCMT (Cowie, Barger, & Kneib 2002). The optical counterpart was found in deep multiwavelength imaging from the Kitt Peak National Observatory, but its nature was not understood (only a handful of SCUBA/submm galaxies have measured spectra). Gemini was able, with its great light gathering power, to obtain a spectrum that allows an analysis of this distant galaxy that is thought to represent some of the most massive galaxies of the early universe.

Ledlow
and his colleagues surmise that this galaxy is representative of the
most massive galaxies in the early universe and that their intense
activity is related to the growth of a massive bulge and an intense
starburst. According to Ledlow, "These galaxies possibly represent the
bulk of star formation occurring in galaxies at this epoch, and yet
they are nearly completely obscured at optical wavelengths."

SCUBA*
galaxy, SMMJ09431+4700, observed with GMOS has the highest
spectroscopic redshift measured so far, at z = 3.35, which corresponds
to a distance of 8 billion light-years. This observation breaks the z =
3 barrier for this population of galaxies for the first time. Its
luminosity of LFIR~ 1.5 × 1013
times the luminosity of the sun makes this galaxy a Hyperlumimous
Infrared system. If powered only by massive star formation, its immense
luminosity would require a star formation rate of about 10,000 solar
masses per year!

However, the spectrum shows the
signature of a weak Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN), hence some of the
luminosity may come from a young supermassive central black hole. This
is the second detection of a Hyperluminous Infrared Galaxy in the submm
population. The other (SMMJ02399-0136, z=2.8) being the previously most
distant known SCUBA galaxy, which also showed evidence of AGN activity.

If
SCUBA galaxies are the progenitors of the most massive galaxies in the
local universe, then the close relationships between AGN's, quasar
activity, supermassive black holes and massive spheroids could be a
natural consequence.

The AGN activity also
appears to have a profound impact on the evolution of these galaxies.
Others have speculated that the AGN SMMJ02399-0136 is driving a
substantial outflow of gas (galactic wind) that may in time sweep the
central regions of the galaxy clear of gas and dust (Smail et al. and
Ivison et al.). Similarly in the spectrum of SMMJ09431+4700, the
contrast between the spatially extended spectral line of Lyman-alpha
and the broader, but spatially unresolved high excitation lines like
Carbon IV and Nitrogen V, suggests that the former arises from emission
in massive outflows. Winds powered by AGN (and central starbursts) are
central to our understanding of the growth of the spheroidal components
in these massive, young galaxies.

The Gemini Observatory is an international collaboration with two identical 8-meter telescopes. The Frederick C. Gillett Gemini Telescope is located on Maunakea, Hawai'i (Gemini North) and the other telescope on Cerro Pachón in central Chile (Gemini South); together the twin telescopes provide full coverage over both hemispheres of the sky. The telescopes incorporate technologies that allow large, relatively thin mirrors, under active control, to collect and focus both visible and infrared radiation from space.

The Gemini Observatory provides the astronomical communities in five partner countries with state-of-the-art astronomical facilities that allocate observing time in proportion to each country's contribution. In addition to financial support, each country also contributes significant scientific and technical resources. The national research agencies that form the Gemini partnership include: the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the Canadian National Research Council (NRC), the Argentinean Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva, the Brazilian Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação and the Chilean Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT). The observatory is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the NSF. The NSF also serves as the executive agency for the international partnership.